


By Sheer Will

by Little_Firestar84



Category: DCU (Comics), Green Lantern (Comics), Green Lantern Corps (Comics), Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps (Comics)
Genre: Anxiety Attacks, F/M, Gen, Green Lanterns 25 spoiler, Rings of Power, Willpower
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-24
Updated: 2017-06-24
Packaged: 2018-11-18 09:38:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11288598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Little_Firestar84/pseuds/Little_Firestar84
Summary: If Hal Jordan had done it, so could she. Even if she liked to call herself the "Anxiety Lantern"...Spoilers for Green Lanterns 25 and "Hal Jordan & The Green Lantern Corps: Rebirth".





	By Sheer Will

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers for Green Lanterns 25 AND Hal Jordan & The Green Lantern Corps: Rebirth Special.

It was happening- again. She had felt that sensation so many times after that fateful night- her whole bodycovered in rivulets of sweat as cold shivers run through her whole being- and yet she still hated it. And she hated herself for she was being weak. Prisoner to fear. Once again. 

As she saw Simon on the ground, trying desperately to breath- to get oxygen that wasn’t there in his lungs- she went back to when her friends had been killed off, one by one; back then, she hadn’t been able to do anything about it, but now, she thought- she knew- as her eyes fell on her rings and she never stopped fighting Volthoom, that it was different. 

Now, she was a Green lantern. 

Now, she wasn’t alone any longer. She was part of something bigger- and she wasn’t even talking about the Corps, or the Justice League. She was talking about _Simon._

She wasn’t an idiot- she knew that right at the start, Simon had basically _hated_ her; she didn’t blame him- she was the first one to admit that she had been a train wreck and she couldn’t get why, between all the inhabitants of the planet, the bloody ring had chosen _her._ But she wasn’t the same person she had been back then: she was stronger- and she knew that she didn’t have to face anything alone any longer. 

She had friends. 

She had a partner. 

She had _Simon._

As she delivered one last hit to the monster that reminded her so much of her time imprisoned byPower Ring,she found herself- and Simon suddenly in an alien place; Jessica looked around, suddenly confused, as it seemed awfully familiar, and yet so different from the cave they had just left behind- and there was no trace of neither Remi or Volthoom any longer, nor that weird Tiger Man who seemed to know them quite a lot.

The Latina was dragged back to reality when she heard, at her back, Simon gasping; his olive kin was turning paler, bluish, and she wouldn’t have needed a ring – nor being a doctor -to know that he was asphyxiating; and, to make matters worse, his right arm was burning- _literally burning-_ with green energy, probably because of the blast that had incinerated his ring.

_ Right,  _ she thought as she kneeled at his side, trying to think about what she could do to save him, _he can’t breathe because he doesn’t have his ring any longer._

She inhaled, in and out, feeling like she was getting a panic attack- which was never a good thing while wearing a ring, she had learnt the hard way- and thought about what to do. 

Creating a bubble around themselves? She guessed it was a solution. But it wouldn’t have worked out in the long run- plus, she wouldn’t have been able to stay more than a couple of steps from him in any situation, which would have given them a clear disadvantage in battle- because she had the distinct feeling that a dangerous battle was definitely approaching. 

She concentrated, trying to find a solution- trying _willing_ herself to find one- when she heard the ring’s voice as clear as day- remembering that Simon needed breathable air to stay alive- and that without his ring he couldn’t get any.

She closed her eyes, frowning in concentration, as her mind went back just to the day before, when having a drink with the rest of other Earth lanterns after training; Kyle- the artist, the former torch-bearer-had said something that had stood with her after she had hugged Hal like he was her lost puppy coming back after months. 

Hal had lost the ring- and after that, even the glove (or whatever he called that ugly stuff)- but he had gotten back to being a Lantern by sheer force of will -Hal had _willed_ a power ring into existence in order to survive. And if an hot-head like Hal could do it, well, why couldn’t she,a natural born survivor?

She clenched her teeth as she put her hands around Simon’s injured arms, the Arabic words tattooed on his arm glowing like they often did when he sued his ring; he was still screaming, and despite the mask,she could see his tears- of fear, but mostly, of pain- and his same pain, that same burning sensation in his body, she felt it to, despite her uniform.

No matter what: she was going to save him, she promised- ordered- herself. 

_ J-Bird, willpower spiking!  _ She felt, rather than heard, her ring saying, as green energy engulfed what was left of Simon’s right hand; she was sweating- and this time for a different reason altogether- and a tiny rivulet of crimson blood was running from her nose, but she was barely noticing it; all she could think of was Simon, and that she had to save him- she had to show people that she had a place among her peers, were them the League or the Corps.

She went into her mind- went into her own heart of hearts- and imagined her own willpower as a little rock, a star- the emerald sun, maybe?- and then she kept concentrating, as much as possible. She didn’t just think about the here and now, not only on her objective; she concentrated also on the why- and the road it had taken her to get to that point. 

She needed a power ring. She needed a power ring to save Simon- Simon, who was her friend and partner and had learnt the hard way to trust her and who inspired her and who gave her strength and he gave him her own strength and faith in return; suddenly, her thoughts were running as fast as Barry, her breathing, even if still heavy, was controlled; Jessica became aware of everything around her and _in_ her- every cell, every atom, every breath and every heartbeat,and she repeated in her brain the words, like a mantra- like she often did to fight anxiety attacks –oxygen, endorphins, brain, beat, o _xygen, endorphins, brain, beat-_ again and again and again, until the star between her hands, the crystal, didn’t take form- one she knew very well, one she had gotten to love and to trust.

_ J-Bird, you rock!  _ Her own ring said as the one she had created- a construct, maybe, or maybe something much more- spoke the words she’d never forget, not even in a million of years- not even if she was to die and be reborn and die again and again in an endless circle.

_ Simon Baz of Earth, you’ve the ability to overcome great fear. Welcome to the Green Lantern Corps. _

Emerald light engulfed Simon’s right arm, as his uniform suddenly stopped fading; still on his knees, he gulped down a mouthful of saliva, his eyes wide open as he looked astonished at the spectacle- the miracle- happening right before him; as Jessica grinned, her eyes teary- with happiness, satisfaction and pride too-Simon stared as the tattoo shined, and his skin- his flesh and hid blood too- healed.

“Whoa. What the…” He said, unable to end the sentence, as, what seemed like an eternity, he stared at his own form, healed. 

“YES! I DID IT!” Jessica screamed on top of her lungs, breaking the seemly holy quiet of the place where they were finding themselves in, the (in)famous Chamber of Shadows, as she launched herself at him, and huggedSimon with such a strength she was, frankly, scared of hurting him. 

(Batman liked her, after all. Of course he liked Simon more, but, still, he liked her. )

“Jess… what did you do?” Simon asked, as he couldn’t stop staring at the ring on his finger- even if Jessica was still in his arms (which, frankly, wasn’t so bad, not at all, nor weird).

Still smiling- grinning, even- Jessica parted with him, and slapped him, playfully, on the shoulder. “Ah! I saved you, that’s what I did! I made a ring out of _my_ will!”

_ Weren’t the Guardians the only ones capable of doing something like that?  _ Simon wondered, his eyes going from the ring to Jessica and back to the ring again; but, he decided, sighing, wasting time on such a trivial thought wasn’t going to do neither of them any good; he scanned his surroundings, wondering where the “Travel Lantern”, as Jessica’s ring had called it, had brought them. 

“So, partner, what do you suggest…” he started to say, but then both their rings started shining in the semi-darkness of the Chamber of Shadows, and they gasped, as they heard both their rings speaking at the same time.

_ Jessica Cruz of Earth… _

_ Simon Baz of Earth… _

_ …there is a crisis in the universe. You are needed.  _

They exchanged just a look- of strength and determination- and then, nodding at each other, their heads high, they flew away, ready for their next adventure.

Ready for their next mission. 

**Author's Note:**

> The way Jessica and Simon are seen interacting here is up to the reader; I like to think there may be some loingering affection between them- even some deep-buried feelings, if you like- but mostly, they are friends, partners, and each other's support group.


End file.
